


Consequences

by shutupmulder



Category: Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt, Mission Fic, Romance, Slightly AU since Hunley is still alive, post fallout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-14 03:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17500628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutupmulder/pseuds/shutupmulder
Summary: Three months after Kashmir, Ilsa meets some trouble she might not be able to handle alone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Hotel room 206, La Paz, Bolivia**

Falling asleep only a few hours ago after being awake for God knows how long, at least 43 hours she had counted, injuries and painkillers aside - she really should be too tired to notice that someone is moving around in her hotel room.

However, being a trained killer, she is always aware of what is happening even if sometimes she would prefer not to. Keeping her eyes closed and pretending to sleep, she listened intently and counted at least three people, one to her left and two to her right. Moaning softly in her sleep, she subtly reached her hand underneath the pillow, grabbing a hold of her gun.

Her ears picked up another person moving in the room, also to her right.

Ilsa did the math; four against one.

Adding to the fact that she was already injured she knew it was bad and that she had to take control of the situation, to take her assailants by surprise.

She heard one person to her right move closer to her and she made her decision. In a swift move, she pulled out the gun and fired it towards the lone assailant to her left, glad she heard a groan before she turned the gun to her right.

Unfortunately, the person closest to her had been quick as well and when the next shot went off the assailant had taken a hold of her arm and the bullet hit the lamp on the bedside table instead, shattering it in small pieces. She noticed they were all wearing balaclavas, so she was unable to see their faces.

”Il-.” The man above her started but he didn’t get to finish before her fist landed on the side of his face. He groaned but his grip on her lower arm remained firm so instead, she grabbed a hold of him and rolled over, making them fall off the bed. He was fast to react and was able to move and land on top of her, making her groan as they hit the floor.

Ilsa could feel pieces off glass from the shattered lamp digging into her already injured back and her arms were pressed down into the floor by the man above her. The gun had slipped out of her hands in the process, leaving her unarmed.

“Stop-” Not letting the assailant above her finish speaking once more, she headbutted him, successfully disorientating him for a moment and pushed him off of her. Before he had the chance to react, she wrapped her legs around his middle while her hand found a knife by his belt and she lay down on her back, using his body as a shield. Pressing the blade against the man’s throat, he held his hands up as if saying “I surrender”.

“Drop your weapons!” She said to the two masked men standing only a few meters away from them with their guns raised. “Now, or I swear to God, I will kill him.” Pressing the knife just a little closer towards the man’s throat, she heard him hiss slightly as the sharp blade pierced through the skin and small drops of blood stained the knife.

The masked men did as she said and lowered their guns, laying them down on the floor. The man that she had shot had also joined them, slowly, as she kept her eyes on him and he dropped his gun as well, clutching his shoulder with his free hand.

“Ilsa..” The man above her spoke. “It’s Ethan.”

_That voice. She would recognize it from anywhere. But it couldn’t be, could it?_

“Benji, Luther, Brandt. Take off your masks.” The man on top of her said and she watched closely as the men did as ordered. Ilsa blinked as she watched Benji, Luther and Brandt standing there looking at her and Ethan, Benji with a slightly panicked look on his face.

She took a deep breath, trying to make sense of the situation. It could be a trick.

“What was the first thing you said to me when we met, Ethan?”

“Nice shoes, by the way.” He answered and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She huffed before she removed the knife from his throat and released her hold of him. He gently rolled off of her, taking his mask off and sat up, facing her.

“You okay?” Benji asked Brandt.

“I’m fine”. Brandt answered gruffly, clutching his shoulder.

Holding her hand against her middle, Ilsa raised to a sitting position as well, eyes landing on Brandt for a moment to make sure he was actually okay and that she had not hit anything vital before her eyes fixed on Ethan again.

“What the-?” She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly, “Jesus, I could have killed you, what the hell were you thinking? And what hell are you doing here?” The initial shock of waking up from a deep sleep to armed assailants in your room, and not just any armed assailants, was still evident.

“Sorry.” She noticed that he was studying her injured face before his gaze lowered to the hand clutching her stomach. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Am I okay?” She asked, eyebrows raised. “No. No, Ethan, I’m not okay. I would very much like to know what the hell you are doing in my hotel room, with guns raised on me.”

Her harsh words hurt him, she could tell by his face, but at the moment she did not care. She needed to know what the hell was going on.

“I’ll tell you all about it,” he nodded, “but first I need to know, where can I find a first aid kit?”

She looked up at Brandt once more before nodding towards the door to the right. “Bathroom. Standing next to the sink.”

Ethan stood up and hesitated for a moment before reaching his hand out to her. Maintaining eye contact, she accepted the helping hand and winced only slightly as she stood up. Once she was on her feet, Ethan turned around and moved towards the bathroom.

Luther had moved to get the only chair in the room and put it down next to Brandt so that he could sit down. Once Brandt was seated, all eyes turned back on Ilsa.

“I’m sorry.” She said, looking at Brandt who wore a blank expression on his face but gave her a small nod, and she read the gesture as an apology accepted.

Ethan walked out of the bathroom with the first aid kit in one hand and a white bathrobe in the other. He handed the first aid kit to Benji, who with help from Luther went to take care of the gunshot wound.

Ethan shared a look with Brandt before turning around to face Ilsa. He moved closer to her and silently offered her the bathrobe. Not until he had walked out of the bathroom with the robe did she realise that she was only standing in her pyjama pants and tank top and she smiled at the kind gesture of giving her something more to wear.

  
“Thank you.” She said as she accepted the robe with her free hand. He slowly put his hand gently on top of the one still clutching her stomach, his eyes finding hers. “I’d like to take a look at that before you put the robe on.”

Had it been any other man that had put his hand on her like that and asked to treat her injuries, she would have said no. Probably punched the man first for touching her. But this was not just any man. This was Ethan. Ethan, who somehow had managed to leave such a big impact on her even though they had not spent a lot of time together.

It had been less than three months since Kashmir, yet not barely a single day had gone by that she did not think of him. It was ridiculous, she told herself. He was only a man and she thought about him as if he was the only thing that mattered. But she couldn’t deny her feelings so here she stood, accepting his help to take a look at her wound on her stomach that had reopened in their wrestle.

He led her towards the bed and she gently sat down, putting the robe beside her. Removing her bloodied hand from her stomach, she lifted her tank top slightly to let Ethan take a look at the wound. His face remained unreadable as he moved to gather a few objects in the first aid kit.

“It doesn’t look too bad.” Ethan said as he came back. “The stitches have reopened, though, so I need to take them out and clean the wound before I stitch it up again, okay?” She gave him a small nod and he went to work.

As he cleaned the wound she watched his face closely, the small crease on his forehead when he concentrated, how his lips would twitch when he thought he was being not gentle enough, how his eyes would seek out hers once in a while to know she was okay even when she assured him she was fine. He must have noticed the angry red bruises around her wrists as well but he chose not to comment on them.

 _Smart man,_ Ilsa thought as he finished cleaning up the wound and put a clean bandage on it and pressed down. “I need to wait for the suture kit.” She nodded at his words. “Can you hold this?” He asked and gently took her hand in his and placed in on the wound as he removed his own hand. “I’ll be right back.”

She watched as he walked into the bathroom and she heard the tap running for a few moments. Looking over at the the rest of the team by the chair in the middle of the room, she noticed that Benji was busy with the needle and thread. Brandt had his eyes closed.

“Can I take a look at your back as well?” Ethan asked as he returned from the bathroom.

  
“My back?” She asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yes. I did fall on top of you and there are shattered pieces of glass all over the floor. Also, I noticed there’s blood just where you lay and on my shirt and last time I checked, I am not injured. Apart from my jaw aching, of course, you’ve got a hell of a left hook.” He returned with a raised eyebrow, a small smile twitching at his lips.

 _Damn, this man,_ she thought but she gave him a small smirk at his perception and nodded. Getting the glass out of her back by herself would take a lot longer and Ilsa was a practical woman.

“You still haven’t told me why you are here.” Ilsa spoke as Ethan had climbed on the bed, settling behind her back. Asking for permission with a gentle hand tugging at the bottom of her tank top she took a deep breath before she nodded, knowing she would probably get a reaction from him once her back was revealed.

Ethan’s intake of breath as he lifted the back of her shirt could be heard even by the team who turned their heads at the sound. “Jesus,” he mumbled, swallowing as he watched the various reddened and swollen marks all over her back. Thankfully, the glass had only caused minor injuries to her back and Ethan removed the small pieces of glass he could get out with his fingers.

“Who did this?” He asked as he took a wet tissue and wiped away the blood around the small wound left by the glass.

“Oh, no. You don’t get to ask the questions. You’re up first.” Ilsa spoke in a don’t-argue-with-me voice.

“You’re right. I-.” Ethan started but Benji interrupted. “We’re done. I’ll go and clean the tools right away so you can get that stitched up.”

“Can we get something to drink, Ilsa?” Luther asked after a few moments, turning to look at her.

“There’s water bottles in the minibar.”

“Thank you.” Luther moved to collect a bottle when Brandt spoke, “Thanks, Luther, but I can walk.” and got up from the chair, moving past the bed towards the minibar.

“It’s good to see you, by the way, Ilsa.” Luther smiled as he moved closer to her and Ethan on the bed. “I’m sorry it had to be like this, though.” He put one hand gently on her shoulder and she smiled back. “It’s good to see you too, Luther. And I’m sorry as well.”

“Shit,” Brandt muttered under his breath, stopping mid-step on his way back to the chair, his eyes fixed on Ilsa’s back, water bottle in hand.

“What’s going on?” Benji asked as he came out with the clean tools, moving past the bed to give Ethan the suture kit and freezing mid-step as well when seeing Ilsa’s bruised back. Luther, still standing next to Ilsa, leaned slightly over the bed to see what everyone was so stunned about and he regretted the action immediately, closing his eyes. “Sorry,” he mumbled to her before he moved further away from her, giving her some privacy.

“It’s okay. Now Benji, either you hand that kit to Ethan or you can hand it to me so we can get this over with today. I still have questions.” Ilsa’s voice was cold and Benji snapped out of his initial shock and gave Ethan the kit. “I’m sorry, Ilsa.” Benji mumbled before he moved to stand next to Luther as Brandt reclaimed his position in the chair.

“No stitches needed on your back.” Ethan spoke as he put on the last band-aid. “Okay, now let’s stitch that stomach up and we’re done.” Gently, Ethan pulled the tank top down over her back and moved around to her front once more.

“So.. why are you here?” Ilsa repeated the question she had asked earlier.

“We’re on a mission.” Ethan spoke.

“I kind of gathered that.”

“Of course. The thing is, actually.. well, you are the mission.” Ethan furrowed his eyebrows as he took a hold of the needle and thread.

“Me?” Ilsa bit her lip nervously. “So, were you sent to kill me or..?”

“Yes.” Ethan spoke, as he started stitching. “I mean, no, no, not specifically you.” Ethan quickly added as he glanced at her shocked face. “God, no.” He took a deep breath. “We had a location with a tracker and we were sent to kill the person who wore the tracker. As it turned out, that person is you.”

“A tracker? What are you talking about?” Ilsa asked, looking confused at the team in front of her.

“Usually, they put in the necks but they must have known that you would find it so they put it in your back. It was hard to see among the other wounds, but I could see the small mark from the injection.” Ethan looked at her with concerned eyes.

Ilsa huffed a laugh, having a hard time taking in what she was hearing.

“So you mean to say there’s a tracker in me put there by my captors and that.. the IMF was able to run the trace?” She winced slightly as the needle pierced her skin.

“I know this sounds strange, but yes. Who were you captured by?” Ilsa heard the hesitation in Ethan’s voice at the personal question.

“Not the IMF, I can tell you that. Unless someone set it up so it wouldn’t seem like the IMF.” Ilsa furrowed her brows, deep in thought.

“Okay..” Ethan spoke, giving her a moment, as he continued stitching.

“But it doesn’t make sense. Why would they put in a tracker in me? I was already captured.” Ilsa shared her thoughts loudly.

“It’s a standard procedure for the IMF to put a tracker in prisoners of high value.” Brandt spoke.

“Yeah, but Ilsa already said she was not captured by the IMF.” Benji returned.

  
“I know, but still, the IMF was able to locate the tracker which means it has to be one of our own trackers. And no one outside of the IMF has access to the equipment, which means it must have been put there by one of our own.” Brandt answered, taking a sip from the water bottle.

Now the room was completely silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of Ethan’s movements when stitching, everyone was deep in thought.

“Who gave you the order?” Ilsa asked suddenly.

“What?” Ethan said dumbly.

“Do you know which person it was who gave the order?”

“No. We don’t have personal contact with the one who gives us the missions. Why are you asking?”

“Could anyone at the IMF have sent the four of you for a reason?” Ilsa asked.

“You mean if someone knew that we were.. acquainted and chose our team specifically?” Ethan cut off the thread after finishing the last stitch.

“Yes.” She looked him in the eyes.

“But why?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, why?” Ilsa had a faraway look in her eyes. “No, that would not make sense unless someone would want to warn me. Were your orders to kill me immediately or..?”

”Subject very dangerous, do not engage, shoot to kill.” Ethan spoke in a monotone voice.

”Huh, okay.”

“But what does all this mean?” Ilsa had almost forgotten about the rest of the team in the room, so lost in thought when Benji spoke. She took a deep breath.

“It means someone wants me dead. Someone who would risk exposing themselves using IMF technology. Someone who has the authority to send you all on a mission to kill.”

The room was quiet once again after Ilsa’s words. Ethan remembered he was supposed to put a band-aid over the wound he had just stitched up.

“But who?” Luther asked, finally, the question on everyone’s mind.

“Well, that’s what we’re gonna we find out.” Ethan spoke, stepping away from Ilsa and wiping his hands on a towel.

“What about Ilsa?” Benji asked.

“What about me?” She asked Benji, eyes fixed on him.

“Well, the fact still remains that we are on a mission and that mission is to kill you and we have report back in less than three hours.”

“Well, what are you supposed to with the body?” She asked.

“What?”

“Do you need proof? A picture of my dead body, my real-life body or is a simple “it’s done” enough?” Raising an eyebrow, she watched realisation dawn on him.

“Oh, no, words are enough.”

“Good.” As she moved to get up, Ethan’s hand was suddenly on her shoulder. “Wait.”

“What?” She sat back down again.

“We need to be careful. The tracker is still in you and for all we know, that _someone_ could be watching right now. Also, like you said Ilsa, this is very serious, someone very badly wants you dead so I don’t think you should be walking out in the open. Especially not with us.”

“Do you expect me to sit here and wait?” Luther smiled almost proudly at her tone.

“No, of course not. We’ll just need a disguise.” Ethan answered calmly.

Ilsa nodded.

“So what do we do about the tracker? Can we remove it or will someone notice if we do?” Stretching her neck from side to side, she closed her eyes briefly, feeling an incoming headache.

“No, we can remove it. But if we do, we might have to make this look like you tried to escape and then just throw the tracker into the ocean, because it will be suspicious if we don’t leave a body behind.” Benji answered and came around the side of the bed carrying a large bag.

“Here you go.” Benji said after rummaging around in the bag, handing Ethan a piece of equipment used to remove and insert a tracker.

Ilsa sighed and leaned forward slightly, pulling the back of her shirt up as Ethan once again sat behind her.

“Wait.” Ilsa said and Ethan stopped his movements. “You do realise what you’re all getting yourselves into? I mean, this is treason, they could kill you for this.”

She could hear Ethan huff a laugh behind her. “I’m serious, Ethan.”

“Oh, so we should just shoot you right here, right now to end this?” Brandt asked. “I might be a little pissed at you for shooting me, but I’m not that pissed, Ilsa.” The team chuckled at his words.

“Whatever I can do to help you, I will.” Luther nodded and smiled.

“Last time we saw each other you saved my life. Of course, I’m with you.” Benji said as if he had just agreed to the simplest task someone had ever asked him.

Ilsa turned around slightly on the bed to look at Ethan.

“It seems like we’re destined to meet in chaos, Ilsa.” He chuckled. “You’ve saved my life more than once, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m doing this for you, because I care about you and because it’s the right thing to do.”

Ilsa swallowed, his honesty overwhelming her almost as much as the look he gave her. There was an awkward pause before she cleared her throat and tore her eyes away from his. “Okay, so it’s settled then.”

“You do realise you are going to have to tell us about what happened to you?” Ethan asked gently after having the tracker removed.

“I know.” She gave him a small smile before she finally got to put the robe on. “But first I need to get some water.” He smiled and watched her move towards the minibar, fishing out an aspirin from a small bottle on the way before he put the equipment back in the bag.

On her way back she noticed the team were still standing in the same spots, except for Ethan who was now next Benji instead of sitting on the bed.

“I apologize for the lack of seats. Ethan, maybe you can move the armchair by the window closer?” She asked gently, and immediately he mumbled, “of course”, and did as asked. Brandt remained seated on the chair and finally, after a bit of convincing from Ethan and Benji, Luther sat down in the armchair.

“There’s plenty of space on the bed.” Ilsa offered as she sat down at the edge of the bed, motioning for Ethan and Benji to sit down as well.

It looked like they were going to protest for a moment but then changed their minds, sitting down on the queen-sized bed.

“So before I begin, is there anything you want to know?” Ilsa asked and she noticed they were a bit taken aback by her willingness. “It’s the least I can do.” She added.

“Who are you working for now?” Brandt asked curiously.

“No one. I’m kind of freelancing at the moment. I have a few contacts and I owed them a favor.” The team nodded at her words. “Anything else?”

Shaking their heads, the team watched as Ilsa nodded and swallowed before beginning to speak. “Like I said, I owed one of my contacts a favor, which was how I ended up in this city. I was following a lead when I was shot with a tranquiliser gun. When I woke up, my hands and feet were tied. It was a small room and I was hanging from a hook on the ceiling.”

“It didn’t take long before a few men entered the room. They knew who I was. They asked me questions about Lane and the Syndicate. For some reason, they believed I had answers.”

“Did you?” Ethan asked lowly.

Ilsa shifted slightly on the bed. “I did. But obviously, I did not tell them that.”

“What was interesting is that it seemed more like they wanted to know how much I knew about the Syndicate, rather than extracting information from me. It was as if they already had the answers.”

”You mean they were members of the Syndicate?”

“That was my initial thought. Although, I did not have much time to think about it before they started whipping my back with a belt.” She huffed a laugh.

“A few moments later a man entered. He had an American accent, unlike the other two men. There was something special about the way he spoke, so smooth and calm in an almost chilling manner. I know I would recognize his voice.”

“What did he look like?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know, I was blindfolded.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. He talked to me about Lane and the Syndicate and about my involvement in it. Told me I was a liar and a murderer before they continued the interrogation.” She paused to drink from the water battle.

”After a few moments, I was left alone in the room. I could not see how my hands were attached to the ceiling, but I had to try and get out of there so I moved around, jumping and twisting my wrists in different angles. Suddenly, I was on the floor. Removing the blindfold with my tied hands, I sneaked out into the corridor. A guard on patrol came out of one of the doors and before I took him down he managed to fire a shot that grazed my stomach. The shot obviously alerted the building so I had to run. And I got away, checked into this hotel, got a few hours of good sleep before you woke me up.” She finished with a small smile.

It was silent for a few moments as everyone gathered their thoughts.

“And there’s one thing that really confuses me here.” She spoke again and the team looked up at her. “They put the tracker in me. So they should have been able to follow me, right? Follow me to the hotel and kill me. But they didn’t. They sent you. Now, why is that?”

“Maybe.. because they couldn’t run the trace. Someone else had to do it.” Benji spoke.

“Someone at the IMF.” Luther finished.

“Exactly.” Ilsa stated.

“But couldn’t the mole at the IMF just have called your captors and inform them about your location?” Ethan asked, brows furrowed.

“Yes. Unless they sent you for a reason. That it was no coincidence that they sent you after me.” Ilsa spoke, eyes on Ethan. “But would that also mean that they let me escape..?” She wavered off.

“But why would they do that?” Ethan asked, once more.

“I don’t know. But my gut instinct tells me that you’re not here by chance. And I hate to tell you, but my gut instinct is usually right.” She raised an eyebrow and the team chuckled at her words despite the seriousness of the situation.

“You sound just like Ethan. I wonder how many times I’ve heard you talking about your gut instinct, Ethan.” Benji joked.

“Shut up, Benji.” Ethan smirked before his face turned serious. “We have work to do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Ethan Hunt’s apartment.**

Late last night, they left Bolivia. Ethan had reported back to the IMF that the mission was completed.

While Ethan and the team had left for their hotel together, Ilsa, in disguise, had sneaked out the emergency exit and later joined them at the hotel. They quickly came up with a plan to sneak Ilsa out of the country without being seen by unwanted eyes before leaving for the States, first dumping the tracker in the river, making it look like they had disposed of her body.

Gathered around the table in the kitchen, Ethan, Ilsa, Benji, Luther, and Brandt ate takeout food, discussing what they were going to do next.

”And you are certain you can trust Hunley with this information?” Ilsa asked. ”And that he’s not the mole?”

”Yes. He’s reliable and he wants to do the right thing. Finding out there’s a mole inside the IMF, he’d do anything to help expose that person.” Ethan answered with an encouraging smile.

”Okay, good.”

”So that’s it then?” Benji asked, putting his cutlery down on his empty plate. ”Ilsa, you’ll contact your sources if they have heard anything new about the Syndicate while you go talk to Hunley?” Benji finished, looking at Ethan.

”Yeah. It shouldn’t be too hard for him to find out who greenlit the mission.” Ethan answered.

”Good.” Brandt rose from the chair, reaching for his plate.

”Leave it, I’ll take care of that.” Ethan spoke as the rest of the team stood up as well.

”Okay, thanks.” Benji, Brandt and Luther moved towards the hall, Ethan and Ilsa right behind them. ”See you tomorrow then, Ethan.”

”Take care, Ilsa.” Luther mumbled with a smile which she returned as he put on his jacket.

”Thanks, guys. Goodnight.” Ilsa spoke as they walked out the door, leaving her and Ethan alone.  

After locking the door, Ethan turned around and gave Ilsa a small smile.

”Let’s get the dishes, shall we?” She asked and he nodded, moving towards the kitchen.

They loaded the dishwasher and put the leftovers in the fridge together in a comfortable silence. Occasionally they shared a small smile at how domestic the situation was.

When they were finished Ethan turned to look at Ilsa.

”Unless you have something more to add, I could really use some sleep right now.”

Ilsa shook her head. ”Me too. To be honest, I’m exhausted.”

”I can understand that. To bed then.” Ethan smiled and they left the kitchen.

In the spare bedroom, Ilsa found a toothbrush and hairbrush in the bag that Ethan had bought for her, containing a few sets of clothes and some necessary toiletries.

Finding the bathroom empty, she went first, preparing herself for bed. As she came out of the bathroom Ethan met her halfway to the bedroom.

”I realised I didn’t buy you anything to sleep in. If you want to, you can borrow one of my shirts.” He held up an oversized grey t-shirt. ”It’s newly washed, I promise.” He gave her a small smile which she returned.

”Thanks, Ethan.” Ilsa looked at him for a moment. ”For everything” She added.

”Don’t mention it.” He waved it off.

Walking a few steps closer, he gulped at how close they were standing.

”I mean it.” She said lowly, her eyes staring deep into his.

Ethan simply nodded and they looked at each other for a few moments before she raised an eyebrow.

”Ethan..”

”What?” His brows furrowed.

”The shirt, please?” She smirked and he groaned inwardly.

”Right. Here.” He gave her the shirt and offered her a lopsided grin.

”Goodnight, Ethan.”

”Goodnight, Ilsa.”

 

—

 

**IMF Headquarters**

Ethan sighed before knocking on the office door of Secretary Hunley.

”Come in.” He heard a muffled voice through the door.

Hunley sat behind the desk, body partly hidden behind the computer in front of him. He mumbled something about being just a second and Ethan sat down on the chair in front of the desk, patiently waiting. As he finished typing he shut down the laptop and took off his glasses, wiping the glass with a microfiber cloth before he put them back on.

”So, I know you wanted to talk to me. First, I would just like to say, I’m so sorry. I heard about what happened with agent Faust and I know you knew each other.” Hunley gave him a sad smile. ”To think that she was part of the attack in Brazil..” he wavered, shaking his head.

”That’s why I’m here, sir. I wish to speak to you, off the record.”

Hunley leaned back in his chair and sighed, nodding. If Ethan Hunt wanted to speak off the record it was serious.

”I trust you, sir, and your judgement so I will speak plainly. Ilsa Faust is not dead.” He paused, watching Hunley’s eyes widen. ”She was set up and I will tell you why I know this.”

”We were on the mission and entered the hotel room of the suspect. We were not supposed to make contact with the target but I always want to see the person I’m about to kill. You can imagine my shock when seeing Ilsa.”

”Before we had the chance to think about what we would do with this knowledge, she attacked us by surprise. Shot Brandt in the shoulder and we fought for a brief moment before she had a knife to my throat. Of course, we told her who we were and she released me. She was wounded in our struggle and as I checked on her wounds I noticed she was already injured. Her back.. there were belt marks all over it. It was obvious that she had been tortured. I also noticed the mark of an injection, exactly the same as when one of our trackers are inserted, which left me wondering why someone with IMF technology would torture and put a tracker in a former British agent.”

”In the report, it said there was a fight on the street, a struggle where they managed to insert the tracker without her knowledge before she managed to run away from the location on foot.” Hunley said dumbly.

”Without her knowledge? Those do sting, sir. That is just a terrible excuse to cover up what happened.”

”So what did happen, agent Hunt?”

”She was attacked on the street. When she woke she was tied up. They had questions for her about Lane, his associates and his whereabouts. Obviously, she did not answer them, which resulted in the torture.”

”Lane?” Hunley sighed, sitting up straighter. ”Continue.”

”Well, she managed to escape. But the tracker was already planted during the torture, without her knowledge which makes sense since she was blindfolded and her back was a mess. She left the city and checked into a hotel room. Then we showed up.”

Hunley sat in silence for a moment.

”IMF technology. But that’s impossible unless..”

”There’s someone on the inside. Someone high up with the authority to send us on a mission to kill. Someone who was part of capturing and torturing her for information about Lane.”

”But why kill her?”

”Maybe they were pissed after she escaped. Knew she wouldn’t speak so they might as well kill her. I don’t think they are very happy with her, either, she was a big part of taking Lane down.”

”So this is about revenge?”

”I don’t know, but it could be. It could also be looking for information about Lane’s whereabouts. But to Ilsa, it sounded like they already knew answers to the questions they asked.”

”It’s a bit odd that your team were the ones sent to kill her.” Hunley said, brows furrowed.

”I know, sir. We don’t know if it was a coincidence or if someone sent us on purpose. But what reason is there to send us on purpose if not to warn her?”

”Unless they wanted you, specifically, to kill her.”

Ethan sat in silence for a few moments.

”We did speak of revenge, if someone wants revenge on Ilsa for what happened with Lane, they sure want revenge on you as well.” Hunley spoke.

”They want revenge.. so they try to make me kill Ilsa..” Ethan shook his head, it did make sense.

_Bastards._

”She means a lot to you,” It was a statement, not a question. ”And they must know that.”

Ethan did not know what to say to that.

”Where is she now?” Hunley asked.

”In a safe place.”

”Good. I suppose you have a proposition on how to proceed?”

”I’d like you to check if there are any employees who have been to Bolivia recently. Or places close by, it’s possible they have flown to some city close by to avoid suspicion. Also, who ran the trace? Who decided to send us on this mission?”

”I will do that. Jesus Christ, one of Lane’s associates with this authority. Who knows what he has seen, what he knows.” Hunley shook his head. ”Go home, Ethan. They’re most likely watching you, so be careful. We probably shouldn’t be seen together, it could be suspicious since you’re off work the next couple of days. I’ll call you when I have any news.”

”Thank you, sir.” Ethan got up from the chair and gave the Secretary a smile before walking out of the room.

 

—

 

When Ethan came back home, a delicious scent of pasta and sauce wafted through the air. He smiled as he shrugged out of his jacket and shoes to join Ilsa in the kitchen.

“Something smells really good.” He greeted her, watching as she stood by the stove, stirring a pot. She turned around and gave him a smile that made his heart beat faster. “Thank you, it’s only pasta and sauce, it was about the only thing that I could come up with going through your pantry.”

“It’s perfect. I fear I do not cook very often, hence the almost empty pantry.”

“How did it go with Hunley?” Ilsa asked, removing the sauce from the hotplate before moving to get the pot with pasta.

“It went well. He will check if anyone inside the IMF has travelled to Bolivia recently, who sent us on the mission and who ran the trace. He’ll call when he has any information.”

“Good.” Together they set the table and sat down to eat.

“Any news of Lane from your contacts?” Ethan asked.

“Unfortunately, no.”

Ethan nodded and hesitated a moment before speaking.

“There’s one thing I have to tell you, though.”

Her eyes peeked up in interest and she waited patiently for him to speak.

“I think this whole thing could be about revenge. It could also be locating Lane, but I have a feeling it’s about revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“They tortured you. You said it seemed like they already knew the answers, so perhaps they just wanted to hurt you. Also, we spoke of why the mole would send my team, if not to warn you. I believe they sent me, specifically, to kill you.”

Ilsa watched him in stunned silence for a moment.

“But-,” she began. “Why?” Confusion was evident on her face.

Taking a deep breath, Ethan looked away uncomfortably, thinking carefully about his next words. He could feel her gaze upon him.

“Because I care about you, Ilsa. They must know that, and what better way to make me suffer than to kill someone that I care about?” His eyes were still fixed on the wall behind her and the shakiness of his voice did little to conceal his anger and pain.

The sound of her chair moving made him look up and he watched as she rounded the table to stand next to him. Gently she put one hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile. “It’s okay.”

He shook his head slightly, looking down. “No, it’s not okay. I could have killed you, Ilsa.”

“And I could have killed you. I held a knife to your throat, for God’s sake.” She sighed. “Look at me, Ethan,” her gentle voice made him look up again and her warm blue eyes staring into his made him swallow. “This is our job. This is our life. We never know what’s coming - if we will wake up the next day in one piece or if we will even wake up at all. We don’t know what the consequences of a mission will be. But that’s just how it is and it’s something we have to live with.”

Slowly, Ethan put his hand on top of Ilsa’s still on his shoulder.

“You’re right. Still, the pain, anger and fear never fade, no matter how long you’ve been doing this.”

“It doesn’t. But the only way to make it go away is to stop these sons of bitches. So let’s focus on that, okay?” She gave him a small smile, which he returned, nodding. Giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, her hand left his shoulder and she returned to her seat.

”We need to call the guys and tell them about this.” Ethan said.

”Yes. How do you think they’ll react?”

”What?” Ethan took a sip of his drink.

”I mean, you are kind of admitting your feelings for me when telling them.”

“I’m kidding,” she added with a smirk when she saw him slightly choke on the water and watched his face turn slightly red.

“You’re funny.” He said with a lopsided smile that made her insides flutter.

“Thank you.”

They ate the rest of the meal in silence, thinking about Lane, revenge and their feelings for each other.

  
-

The next day Ethan and Ilsa sat on the couch, a nature program was playing on the TV, but neither of them were focused on the screen. Ethan’s laptop was on his lap and he was going through some files, searching for any kind of information that could help them. Occasionally, they shared their thoughts but mostly they sat in comfortable silence.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and they shared a look. Ilsa grabbed the gun Ethan had given to her as he moved towards the door, his own gun stuffed in the back of his jeans. Ilsa stood by the doorway in the living room, ready to enter the hall if needed. Ethan looked through the peephole before opening the door.

“Secretary Hunley,” Ethan greeted, trying to hide his surprise.

“Ethan. May I come in?” Hunley asked.

“Of course,” Ethan took a step aside to let him enter, glancing behind him for anything suspicious. Finding nothing, he closed the door.

“We need to talk.” Hunley took a few steps inside and entered the empty living room, Ethan following behind with a grimace on his face that disappeared once he noticed that Ilsa could not be seen.

“Please, sit,” Ethan waved with his hand towards the large couch and Hunley accepted the invitation, sitting down and scanning the room as Ethan sat down in the armchair in front of him.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Hunley began.

Ethan furrowed his brows, “Sir?”

“There’s two cups of coffee on the table. And from the steam, I’d say it’s pretty fresh. Now either you have psychic abilities and knew I was going to come, or you have company.”

Ethan froze for a moment before huffing a laugh. Hunley gave him a small smirk and they both turned their heads as Ilsa entered the living room from the kitchen, gun still in her hand.

“Ilsa, I presume?” Hunley stood to shake her hand and with a swift move she put the gun in the back of her pants and accepted the handshake. “Secretary Hunley.”

“It’s good to finally meet you,” Hunley sat down again and Ilsa moved to sit down in the armchair next to Ethan.

“You too, sir. I’d like to thank you for your help.”

“No need to. But I do have information that I believe is of interest to you both.” Hunley sighed.

“You asked me to check on any employees that have travelled to South America recently and I found one. Alex Gibson. Travelled to Arequipa, Peru on vacation five days ago. Arequipa is a ten-hour drive from La Paz. He also greenlit your mission.”

“So that settles it. Where is he?” Ethan asked.

“He has not come back. In fact, he was supposed to come back today but apparently he missed the flight and we haven’t been able to get in contact with him.”

“He knows. He must know we’re after him.” Ilsa said, brows furrowed.

“But how?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know. But this man has a huge insight into the organisation and we have no idea what he has done with the information he has.” Hunley finished and the graveness of the situation left them in silence for a few moments.

“Why did you come here, sir?” Ethan asked, all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry?” Hunley asked.

“You told me we shouldn’t be seen together and that you would call me if you had information and now you show up at my apartment.” The almost accusing tone of Ethan’s voice made Ilsa tense.

Ilsa’s eyes slowly went from Ethan to Hunley who looked puzzled by Ethan’s question. There was a small silence where Ethan and Hunley maintained eye contact as Ilsa felt an uneasiness growing in the pit of her stomach. On instinct, her hand subtly moved towards her gun.

A small movement from Hunley as he started to open his mouth made Ethan and Ilsa draw their guns simultaneously, pointing it at the man on the couch. “Don’t move,” Ethan spoke loudly and stood up, gun still pointed at the man. Slowly, Hunley raised his hands with a small smile on his face. “I knew you were good. Didn’t know you were this good.”

“Take it off.” Ethan ordered and he watched as the man, still with raised hands, slowly removed the mask from his face. Once he was done, a man in his mid-thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes sat in front of them.

“Who are you? And what have you done with Hunley?” Ethan asked as Ilsa stood up, moving towards the windows and carefully pulling the curtains to the side to check for any intruders. Subtly, Ethan reached his hand to his back pocket, blindly pushing on a button on his cellphone.

“You don’t need to know my name. I’m just a man sent to deliver a message for the greater good.”

“What’s the message?” Ethan asked, giving Ilsa a small nod when she shook her head before moving away from the windows.

“You can’t stop us, Ethan. No matter how hard you try.”

“That’s it?” Ethan asked.

“No. She’s gonna die.” He spoke and he slowly turned his head to look at Ilsa.

“What?” Ethan spoke, taking a step closer towards the intruder on the couch.

“She’s gonna die. You can’t stop it. We would have preferred you to do it, but I guess, in the end, we don’t always get what we want. Do we, Ethan?” He sighed. “Besides, we’ve got other plans for her now. And for you as well.” The man leered at Ethan who grit his teeth and clenched his fingers.

“Where is Hunley?” Ethan asked, his voice louder now.

“He’s fine, don’t worry. It’s not that hard to get a scan of the Secretary’s face when you have someone working close to him.”

“Alex Gibson?” Ilsa asked.

“Mm.” He gave Ilsa a look that Ethan decidedly did not like.

“And what happens next?” llsa asked. “What’s your plan?”

“I have a car down on the street. You’re coming with me.”

Ethan huffed a laugh. “And why would we do that?”

“Because underneath this coat there’s a bomb vest. I don’t have the trigger, but the person who does is watching and listening to us right now. This IMF tech is quite something, I really like the glasses.” He touched the bow of the glasses gently with one finger. ”It’s a good thing Secretary Hunley has started to wear glasses instead of lenses recently, otherwise it would have been more difficult to pull this off.” The man gave a small smirk as he watched the two agents faces.

“May I?” Ethan asked, taking a step closer towards him, reaching a hand towards the coat to inspect if he was telling the truth.

“Be my guest. I would be careful if I were you, though.” Ethan slowly unbuttoned the coat. When he was done he sighed and closed his eyes momentarily as he took in the bomb vest.

“Now, I’d like you to put down your weapons and phones on the table and then follow me down to the car. Oh, and any sudden moves, anything... boom.” Ethan and Ilsa silently communicated with their eyes. They had no choice.

“You’re willing to die just to turn us over?” Ilsa asked, putting her gun and phone down on the living room table as Ethan did the same.

“Oh, honey, I’m willing to die for more than that. But I do have a feeling you’re gonna be a good girl and follow my orders, hm?” Reaching for a gun in his pocket, he pointed it at them. “Move.”

A couple of minutes later Ethan and Ilsa sat in the back of a grey van with the man they still did not know the name of but who was clearly an Apostle, on their way to an unknown location.


	3. Chapter 3

Benji, Luther and Brandt sat by one of the small tables in the back of the bar, sipping on beers and talking. Mostly, they had discussed their situation and how they were going to proceed. At the moment, none of them wanted to be alone. The whole team had a very bad feeling about this. Ethan and Ilsa had each other for the time being, so Benji, Luther and Brandt ended up in their favorite bar together.

“So do you think they’re doing it?” Brandt asked after a few moments of silence, a small smirk on his face.

“What?” Benji asked, confused.

“Ethan and Ilsa.” Brandt raised his eyebrows like it was obvious.

“Eww, Brandt. I don’t really want to think about that.” Benji made a disgusted face.

“Oh, grow up, Benji. What do you think, Luther?”

Luther smirked. “Honestly, I don’t know. But if they’re not, I bet they are going to soon. It’s so obvious.” Brandt agreed, nodding while Benji pretended to not hear what they were saying.

Suddenly, their phones beeped at the same time and they shared a look of panic before quickly fishing their phones out of their pockets.

“Code red.” Benji mumbled.

“Ethan,” Luther barely finished speaking before they were all up on their feet, running out of the bar and towards the closest car. Ethan was in trouble.

Brandt’s car was closest and he jumped into driver’s seat, starting up the car and quickly getting out of the parking lot. “Where am I going, Benji?”

“His apartment,” Benji said from the backseat, eyes glued to his phone, checking if the GPS position of Ethan’s phone was moving. So far, it stayed in the same place.

“We’ll be there in six minutes. He’s not answering my call.” He added, trying to shake the worry out of his head.

They drove in silence the rest of the way, Ethan’s phone GPS still not moving.

“Okay, slow down. In case someone’s watching the street, we don’t want them to get suspicious.” Luther spoke and Brandt took his feet off the gas as he drove up on Ethan’s street. As they closed up on Ethan’s apartment, they noticed the lights were on. Scanning the streets for anything out of the ordinary, they slowly drove past the apartment.

“Ilsa! There.” Benji pointed towards the grey van parked on the other side of the street, a man now entering the back of it before closing the door.

“Are you sure?” Luther asked, eyes on the van as it started up.

“What do you mean, am I sure?! I saw her enter the van.” Benji shouted.

  
“Is the GPS moving?” Brandt asked as he made a U-turn at the end of the street, watching as the van drove out onto the street.

Benji looked down. “No, it’s still in the apartment.”

“Okay, Luther and Benji, out now, I’ll follow the van.” Brandt ordered as he stopped the car and watched the van take a left turn.

Luther and Benji quickly jumped out of the car and Brandt pressed on the gas. They watched the car disappear behind the apartment building and walked up to Ethan’s door, guns drawn. Safely and quietly, finding the door unlocked, they stepped inside the apartment. Once they were sure no one was inside, their eyes drifted towards the living room table.

Two guns and two cell phones. Ethan and Ilsa’s. They also noticed an object on the couch and Luther slowly picked up what looked like a mask. Putting his hands inside it, stretching it out, Benji gasped as the face was no one other than Secretary Hunley’s.

 

\---

 

“Yes,” Brandt picked up the phone, keeping his eyes on the road and the van a few cars in front of him on the highway.

“Apartment is empty. We found their guns and phones, Ethan is most likely in the van as well.” Luther spoke. “But that’s not all. We found a mask with the face of Secretary Hunley.”

“What?” The shock in Brandt’s voice was evident.

“Yeah, I know.” Luther sighed.

“Now, what do we do?” Brandt mumbled, driving past a car, still keeping a good distance from the van.

“Well, we just took Ethan’s car, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind given the situation, and we’ll catch up with you. We need to contact the Secretary as well. We’re gonna need backup.”

“Yeah. Is there anything more I can do?” Brandt asked.

“No. Just don’t lose them.” Luther said, gravely.

“I won’t.” Brandt answered before ending the call. “I won’t.” He spoke once more to himself as he took a deep breath and focused on the road.

 

\---

 

“Get out.” The blonde man spoke, remaining seated on his spot in the van as the door opened.

Ethan and Ilsa stood up and slowly got out of the van, noticing it was now dark outside, coming to face with five men dressed in black with guns pointed at them. Behind the men stood a poor warehouse, trees covering the area as much as they could see.

“You.” One of them said to Ilsa. “Hands on the van.” He spoke and she turned around and did as instructed. Before walking over to Ilsa, he gave his gun to the person next to him, making sure it would not help to do anything foolish.

He searched her, finding a small knife in her jeans before he fished out a pair of cuffs out of his pocket. The same routine was done to Ethan and soon they both stood in front of the van, hands cuffed behind their backs.

“Now walk.” Slowly, they moved towards the warehouse. Stepping through the heavy metal door, they came to a large, white and surprisingly clean room. The building had clearly been renovated only on the inside.

“Smart, huh?” A man walked out through a door on their right, taking in the looks on their faces. “Took us years, but finally we’re done. Our own place, right where no one can find us.” He gave them a smile.

“I’m Alex Gibson. It’s nice to finally meet you, Ethan.” He stretched out his hand before giving a chuckle. “Never mind. Here, please, take a seat.”

Two chairs stood in the middle of the room and the agents shared a look before sitting down. Gibson moved towards the wall and collected a chair as well, sitting down a few meters in front of them.

“We’ve already met, Ilsa.”

“I know. I recognize your voice. Now I know your face as well.” She spoke levelly.

Smirking at her words, Gibson leaned back in his chair. “How’s your back?”

“Splendid.” She answered without a beat and Ethan smiled inwardly at her spirit. Gibson shook his head slightly, still smirking.

“I must say, you destroyed my little game there, Ethan. You weren’t supposed to find out that quickly that it wasn’t Hunley.”

“I’m sorry,” Ethan said drily and Ilsa couldn’t help but smile.

Alex put his hand up for a brief moment. “It’s okay. What’s important is that you’re here now.”

A squeaky noise announced the door to the warehouse opening again and footsteps approached them.

“Ah, Lars. Excellent job, as always.” Alex got up from the chair to pat the man that had pretended to be Alan Hunley. “He’s good, isn’t he?” Turning around to face the agents again, he didn’t receive any response other than a quirk of an eyebrow from Ilsa.

“In fact, he was rather glad to be doing this mission. Weren’t you, Lars?”  

Lars kept his gaze on Ilsa and once again Ethan clenched his teeth, he did not like the way he was looking at her.

“Yes.” His voice was flat.

“Not much of a talker. But the thing is, he is quite interested in you, Ilsa.”

Ilsa’s face remained neutral.

“And no, before you get any dirty thoughts, it’s nothing like that.” Chuckling, Alex moved closer to Ilsa, making sure Lars was coming with him.

“Is there anyone he reminds you of?”

Taking a deep breath, Ilsa took a good look at the man standing in front of her. He was tall, upper body pretty well built but slender, with his short blonde hair lying flat on his head. Plain, was the first thing that came to Ilsa’s mind. His blue eyes were dark and his gaze was unsettling.

Ilsa shook her head slowly.

“His name is Lars Vinter. The younger brother of Janik Vinter who you’ve met. Do you remember?”

Ethan winced inwardly as he watched Ilsa swallow, but still keeping her mask on. No wonder the man was pissed, she killed his brother.

“I remember.” She nodded slowly, still keeping her eyes on Lars who opened his mouth to speak.

“You killed him. We found blood on his knife and it was yours.”

Walking a few steps forward, Lars invaded her personal space by leaning very close into her face. She did all she could to not lean back even as she felt his breath on her skin.

“Do you know what it’s like to lose someone you love?” He asked her. Ilsa simply maintained eye contact, not knowing if he wanted a response. He grabbed a fistful of her hair, making her gasp, before pulling her head back so he could see right into her eyes. “Do you?!”

“I do,” she answered after a few moments and his eyes continued to stare deep into hers, searching for truth in them.

“Good.” He released her hair after a few seconds before punching her on the side of her face, making her see stars for a moment. Ethan yelled in protest, but the moment was over and Lars had backed away. He took one last look at her. “I’m going to kill you. Once this is over with, I am going to kill you.”

The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. As Lars turned around and walked away to sit down on a chair by the wall, putting his face in his hands, Ilsa released a tiny shuddering breath, only audible to Ethan.

“Don’t worry, Ilsa. We’re not going there yet. I have some questions for you two first. And then I have plans for you, Ethan. I wasn’t planning on you being alive, Ilsa, but now that you are, I’ve realised it will be much more fun to make you watch.” He smirked as her eyes narrowed slightly at his words.

“The British and American agent. Different orders from different organisations. Somehow, they still manage to fall in love. Isn’t it just wonderful?” Gibson walked closer to Ethan as their faces remained expressionless. “What’s it like, knowing you’re going to watch her die?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened and he closed his eyes briefly. Circling around Ethan’s chair, Gibson stood before him again. Without warning, he struck Ethan hard on the nose and a loud crack echoed in the room. “I said,” Gibson began, watching as blood started flowing down Ethan’s mouth, “what’s it like it knowing you’re going to watch her die?”

Ilsa watched as Ethan stared back at Gibson with his lips pressed in a thin line. He was not going to talk and he was certainly going to get beat up for it. She winced as two more blows hit Ethan in his face and she heard him groan.

“You don’t want to talk, huh?” Gibson inspected his own bruised knuckles. “I’ll make you talk. I promise I’ll make you talk.”

Gibson did not get the chance to say something else before the door of the warehouse flew open and several people rushed inside. Gunshots echoed in the large room and Ethan and Ilsa threw themselves off the chairs down on the floor, taking cover.

When it was over, they slowly raised their heads, seeing Gibson unconscious, presumed dead, on the ground before they heard worried voices coming closer towards them.

“Ethan?”

“Ilsa?”

“Are you okay?”

Turning over to their backs, they watched Benji, Luther and Brandt staring at them with concerned eyes.

Ethan nodded. “We’re fine.” They raised to a sitting position at the same time and Ethan looked up towards the ceiling, blood still dripping from his nose.

“Can you uncuff us, please?” Ilsa asked lowly, eyes on Ethan.

“Oh, of course,” Benji rushed to look for a key on the guards closest to him as Luther bent down to hold a napkin against Ethan’s nose. They shared a look and Ethan closed his eyes briefly.

It didn’t take long before their hands were free and they were taken towards one of the ambulances parked outside the warehouse.

“I don’t need to go to the hospital, I swear.” Ethan groaned.

“Ethan, the crack of his hand hitting your nose was so loud I could have heard it from the other side of the room. It’s obviously broken.” Ilsa spoke.

“So, they can reset it here. Luther, you could do it, you’ve done it before.” Ethan pleaded with his best friend.

“I’m not doing anything when there are first responders here. Sorry, but you’ll have to talk to them.” Ethan sighed at his friend’s words and gave the first responder a warm smile as they came closer to the ambulance.

Ilsa stood a few meters away from Ethan as they checked his injuries, barely listening to him telling them that he was fine and that they could fix his nose where they were standing. She watched as two ambulance workers carried out a gurney from the warehouse, a bleeding Alex Gibson on it. So he was alive.

Lost in thought, she didn’t hear Ethan come closer to her and when his hand gently touched her arm she jumped slightly.

“I’m sorry,” He said quickly, removing his hand. She shook her head, a small smile on her face. “Are you okay?” He asked gently, his eyes searching for hers.

“I’m fine.” She answered, seeing the small band-aid on his swollen but now straight nose. “And you? I see you managed to persuade the first responders to not take you to a hospital.”

He huffed a laugh. “I’m good.”

“Okay, guys, we can leave now if you’re ready.” Brandt spoke, Luther and Benji close behind him.

“Is that Jane?” Ethan asked, looking at someone walking towards the warehouse over Brandt’s shoulder. As if sensing she was being watched, she turned her head and waved at him, before continuing what she was doing.

“Yeah, she happened to be at HQ and she was one of the people who could quickly provide us with backup.” Brandt answered and Ethan nodded, following Brandt, making sure that Ilsa was next to him.

“Wait a minute, how did you even find us?” Ethan asked, the realisation finally hit him that he had no idea how they managed to show up since he had left his phone at home.

Before any of his team members answered, Ethan stopped mid-step. “That’s my car.” He pointed dumbly with his fingers at the black BMW in front of them as Benji unlocked it. “Now, what is my car doing here?”

“It’s a long story. Basically, we followed the GPS signal to your apartment, I saw Ilsa getting inside the van but didn’t see you, so Luther and I jumped out of the car to check the apartment when Brandt followed the van. Since the apartment was empty, we had to follow the van as well so we borrowed your car.” Benji finished, looking at Ethan with a grimace on his face.

“Oh, okay.” He nodded, “Thanks, guys.”

“I never thought I’d see the day Ethan Hunt would thank someone when borrowing his car without permission.” Brandt spoke, smirking.

“Well, let’s just say I’m pretty glad you showed up.” He cleared his throat. “Very glad, in fact.” He mumbled and he received a few sympathetic looks from the team.

“Okay, wanna go home, Ethan?” Luther asked and Ethan nodded. “Yeah.”

“Get in, I’m driving.” Benji spoke, smiling as he sat down in the driver’s seat.

“Ethan, I’m taking my car.” Brandt spoke. “You take care, guys. Talk to you later, okay?”

“Thanks, Brandt.” They all mumbled their goodbyes before getting into the car, Luther taking the front seat while Ethan and Ilsa sat down in the back.

“I must say, it’s weirdly kind of fun to drive your car while you are in the back seat.” Benji spoke after a few moments.

“Don’t get used to it,” Ethan spoke, his eyes on Ilsa who was looking out the window. She had been unusually quiet since they were freed and he wished he could know what was on her mind. He knew she must be able to feel his eyes on her but since she did not look back at him, he gave her some space and turned his eyes on the road instead.

The car ride back to Ethan’s apartment was silent apart from Benji and Luther occasionally exchanging some words. The rain pattered on the windshield and it was hard to see anything looking out the window. As the car finally came to a stop, Ethan patted Benji’s back. “Thanks. You can borrow the car for tonight, do what you have to. I’d like it back tomorrow if it’s okay, though.”

“No, I don’t need that. I can bring it back later once we’ve got our cars.”

“It’s fine. Keep it.” Ethan smiled and Benji nodded.

Ethan looked over at Ilsa, who finally turned to him. “You coming?”

She nodded. “Thanks Benji and Luther.”

“No problem, Ilsa. See you, bye!”

The car doors shut and together they hurriedly jogged up to Ethan’s apartment door, the rain drenching them in the few seconds being under the open sky. In a brief moment of panic, Ethan realised he didn’t have his keys, but the door was unlocked and they stepped inside. Neatly, on the shoe-rack stood their shoes and Ilsa realised they were still in their socks. Ethan must have realised the same thing because he looked at her and gave her a small smile before taking off his wet socks, and she quickly did the same.

They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

“Let’s get changed into something more comfortable?” Ethan suggested and she gave him a small smile as he turned around to enter his bedroom. He returned with a pile of clothes - sweatpants, t-shirt, socks and a hoodie which she welcomed into her arms before turning towards the spare bedroom.

A few minutes later they were seated on the couch.

Ethan wondered why she was so quiet and uncomfortable like if she did not want to be there. The realisation of the situation hit him like a truck. Before they were captured, when Ilsa was at his place, she seemed to be comfortable. At that moment, she had been hunted by some bad people and he could help provide her safety for the time being.

Now, the people after her were either dead or in a hospital soon to be locked up. She had no reason to be here anymore. She was free to leave wherever she wished. The realisation hurt more than he thought it would. Suddenly, he couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving.

But he waited for her to speak first, to do something, to prove him wrong.

He heard her sigh and watched as she got off the couch, moving towards the hallway and he knew she was leaving.

He closed his eyes, thinking about what to do next. Could he tell her about his feelings for her? Would that change things or would it just scare her off? 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and he opened his eyes to watch her enter the room again, two drinks in her hands.

“I think we need this right now, don’t you?” She gave him a small smile as he accepted the glass and his breath of relief was evident.

“Didn’t think I was leaving, did you?” Her eyes twinkled and he huffed a laugh at her joke. However, in a moment of hesitation, his expression turned more serious.

“Or actually, I did,” He said quietly after a few moments before raising his glass. “Cheers.” he mumbled before taking a sip, staring into the glass and ignoring Ilsa’s gaze upon him.

Finally, Ilsa took a sip as well, the familiar feeling of whiskey burning her throat making her relax slightly, even after his honest words had made her tense.

They sat in uncomfortable silence, now and then sipping on their whiskeys, Ilsa drinking faster than him. Suddenly, she sighed and downed the last drops of whiskey before putting the glass on the table with a bang and turning to look at him.

“I care about you too, you know.” The honesty in her piercing blue eyes made him shiver. “I wouldn’t just walk away from you and I hope you know that.”

Ethan gulped at her words and he could see in her eyes that his words had hurt her. She continued watching him and he realised she was waiting for an answer.

“Yeah. It’s just.. you’re a hard person to read, Ilsa.” He said, carefully.

She huffed a laugh. “And yet I feel like from the moment we met, you can read me like a book.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, his hand gently seeking hers resting on her knee. She welcomed his hand and squeezed it gently, giving him a small smile. Apology accepted.

“Are we going to talk about what happened?” She didn’t let go of his hand and she watched Ethan take the last sip of his drink before he put it down on the table.

“Could you be more specific?” He asked, his fingers gently tracing the inside of her hand, making her heart skip a beat.

“Well,” she sighed, looking down at their joined hands, “the fact that we almost got tortured and killed.”

“And what is there to say about it?” He was giving her that look that made her insides flutter and she gulped.

“Well, there is the fact that he wanted to hurt us because of.. well, us, because of this.. thing that’s going on between us.” She finally got it out and met his eyes.

Ethan took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m just going to be frank now.” Closing his eyes briefly, he continued, “I want you, Ilsa. I care for you deeply and watching him, hearing him say those things.. I couldn’t think straight. I wanted to kill him, right there. Not because he’s a traitor, but for what he did to you and for what he was going to do.”

“The first time we met, I remember when looking through the gate, knowing what you had done and that you were going back to them, I knew that you were not just anyone. The fire in your eyes, the mysterious yet gentle smile, the fact that you had helped a complete stranger, risking your cover and your life..” He sighed, and she sat breathless listening to his words. “I couldn’t get your eyes and smile out of my head for the next six months. When I first laid eyes on you again at the opera you took my breath away.”

Without realising it, Ilsa slowly moved her upper body closer towards him and his free hand gently reached to touch the back of her neck, making her sigh. “I knew I felt.. drawn to you, in a way I haven’t really experienced before. But it wasn’t until Kashmir, the days before and after that mission, that I started to finally get to know _you_. Ilsa. Not just Agent Ilsa Faust. When you left, it hurt more than I thought it would. And everything that happened since that hotel room in Bolivia has been a whirlwind, Ilsa. It’s been a blessing, seeing you again and spending time with you, but it has also hurt, everything that we’ve been through the past couple of days.”

He huffed a laugh. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but what I do know, right now, is that I don’t want you to leave.” He finished, his hand still gently caressing her neck.

Her gaze remained upon him, eyes a darker shade of blue than he had seen before. With her mouth slightly open, she was at loss for words.

“Oh, fuck,” She mumbled before her mouth closed the distance between them and captured his lips in a heated kiss.

Without breaking their kiss, she climbed onto his lap they both groaned as their bodies came in contact. Finally, she pulled back for air, and he chuckled gently. ”You never cease to surprise me, Ilsa. I didn’t know how you would respond, but I certainly wasn’t expecting that.” His hand gently caressed the side of her face.

”Well, when you say things like that.. let’s just say you kind of had me at loss for words.” Her fingers lightly traced his lips, eyes following her movements. ”And sometimes actions speak louder than words.”

”Mm.” He agreed, goosebumps erupting on his skin by her fingers tracing his cheek to the back of his head, followed by her mouth leaving open-mouthed kisses on his neck. ”However,” she mumbled against his skin, ”there’s one thing,” _kiss_ , ”I want you,” _kiss,_ ”to know,” _kiss._

Lips leaving his neck, he felt her breath on his ear and she spoke four words that made him groan.

_”I want you, Ethan.”_

What happened after that was a bit of a blur, clothing ending up on the floor in a messy heap, one of the glasses on the table being knocked down (not that they noticed or cared), and their bodies were connected as one as their gasps and exclamations of pleasure echoed through the apartment.

 

—-

 

At some point during the night, they had made it to Ethan’s bed, saying the couch wasn’t made for sleeping on.

Streams of sunlight through the curtains and birds chirping outside made Ilsa sigh in her sleep, starting to wake up.

Blinking a few times, she opened her eyes. Tilting her head, she watched Ethan sleeping peacefully on his back, his arm under her resting on her back. She snuggled closer under his chin for a moment, enjoying the warmth and comfort of being so close to him, her hand resting on his chest as she listened to his deep and even breaths.

Sometime later she sighed, the need to use the bathroom was too strong. Slowly getting out of bed, she dressed in a t-shirt she found thrown over a chair before heading towards the bathroom.

Once she was done she headed into the kitchen for a drink. After downing two cold glasses of water, she entered Ethan’s bedroom again, only to find him half sitting up in the bed, head resting on a pillow with a smile on his face.

”Morning,” She smiled before joining him on the bed.

”Good morning,” he mumbled against her hair before giving her a sweet kiss on the lips.

”Did you sleep well?” He asked, putting his arm around her.

”I did. You?”

”Mm, very well. I was exhausted.”

”I wonder why..” Ilsa said innocently and he chuckled, relishing the feeling of her in his arms.

The sound of the doorbell brought them out of their peaceful moment together and Ethan groaned, looking at his watch. 11:19 A.M.

”Benji?” Ilsa asked, watching as Ethan got dressed.

”Probably,” Ethan answered and Ilsa suddenly remembered the last night. ”The clothes,” she said, getting up and collecting their scattered clothes in the living room in a hurry, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and socks before throwing the clothes into the spare bedroom as Ethan opened the door.

”Hey guys,” Ethan greeted them as Ilsa went to prepare some coffee in the kitchen, quickly checking the mirror only to find out there wasn’t much she could with her tousled hair, she needed a shower.

”I hope we didn’t wake you,” Luther spoke, taking in Ethan’s appearance.

”You didn’t. But in fact, you only missed me by a few minutes, actually. Slept like the dead. Come in,” he let them through the door and they sat down in the living room as Ilsa came out to greet them.

”Hey Ilsa, how are you feeling?” Benji asked with a smile as she sat down next to Ethan on the couch.

”Fine, thanks.”

”I like your new style.” Luther said, grinning as he took in her oversized clothing.

She chuckled, ”Thanks, Luther. It’s actually growing on me.”

The team chuckled at her words. She noticed Brandt looking at her and Ethan with a smirk occasionally but she ignored him, listening to Benji saying something about Ethan’s car.

”Coffee?” Ethan asked after a few moments.

”No, thanks, we’re good. Just wanted to check in on you and leave your car. By the way, Hunley asked for you to come in tomorrow around 11. Both of you.” Brandt spoke, turning his head from Ethan to look at Ilsa.

Ethan gave her a look and she gave a small shrug, ”Okay.”

”Good.” Benji and Luther rose from the couch but Brandt remained seated on the armchair for a moment before he reached for something behind him.

”By the way, I believe this is yours, Ilsa.” Standing up, he fished out a black lace bra beneath the pillow, making Benji’s eyes widen as Ethan closed his eyes momentarily, an awkward look on his face.

”Well, well, well.” Luther muttered, chuckling lowly.

Rising from the couch, she walked up to him with grace, zero embarrassment on her face and took the bra from him with a smirk. ”Thanks, Brandt. You guys have a good day.”

His smirk deepened at her reaction and he knew he was going to get along well with her, hoping she was going to stay around.

”You have fun too.” Luther spoke in a rather suggesting tone and Ilsa swore she could hear Benji groan before the door closed behind them.

Ethan chuckling behind her made her turn around. He held his stomach, shaking his head slightly and she found him incredibly cute standing there. She raised an eyebrow at him.

”I’m sorry,” he tried to collect himself. ”It’s just.. you could tell he knew the moment he walked in.”

”Yeah, I noticed the looks he kept giving us.”

”That’s just.. Brandt.” He shook his head, smiling.

”Did you see the look on Benji’s face?” Ilsa smirked as Ethan started chuckling and this time she joined him.

”He’s always a bit.. sensitive whenever the topic of sex is brought up.”

”So I noticed.”

“I’d say it’s just the Brit in him but then again, you’re British as well and I can tell you’re definitely not sensitive about the mention of sex.” Ethan explained, giving her a smirk.

”Thanks?” Ethan could tell she was fighting back a smile.

”So.. meeting your boss tomorrow.” Ilsa said conversationally, walking past him to get mugs out of the cupboard.

”Yeah. Don’t worry. He probably just has some questions and wants to know how we’re doing.”

She nodded slightly, holding the mugs out as Ethan poured coffee into them. Once again, they joined on the couch, this time sitting closer to each other than they had done before.

”So what will you do next, Ilsa?” Ethan finally asked. The question could not be avoided and he might as well get it over with, even if he was afraid of the answer.

”I don’t know. I was thinking about going on a vacation, far away on a white beach with clear blue water. Maybe look for a new job? Could you possibly see me as a lifeguard?” She smirked and he chuckled.

”Well, since I know you’re damn good at saving my life, I know you’d do well. Although, there might be some middle-aged jerks pretending to drown if they get an eye on you as the bodyguard.” He joked but gave her an appreciative look that made her feel warm inside.

”What, like you?” She said without a beat.

”Ouch,”

Ilsa giggled, the sound sweet, like music to his ears, before patting him apologetically on his thigh.

”You know,” Ethan began, looking down at his coffee, ”If you don’t want to do something else in your life, how about joining the IMF?” He let out a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding once he finished speaking, turning his head to watch her unreadable face.

”Are you offering me a job, Ethan?”

”Well, technically, no, I don’t have the authority to do that. But if you’re interested I can put in a good word for you.”

She was silent for a few seconds.

”Yeah.” She said simply, nodding.

He huffed a laugh. ”Okay. Oh, and uhm, since we are meeting Hunley tomorrow, we could discuss it then?” He asked. ”If you want to, if it’s not too soon.” He added quickly.

She gave him a small smile. ”It’s fine, Ethan.” Taking a sip of her coffee she added, ”I’ve sort of been unemployed for three months so maybe it’s about time.”

He laughed at her words and Ethan felt happier than he had in a very long time.

 

—-

 

The next day, Benji, Luther and Brandt sat in their favorite bar once again, now waiting for Ethan and Ilsa. 

”Hey, guys!” Benji waved excitedly at Ethan and Ilsa who started moving towards their table.

Everyone said there hello’s before Ethan and Ilsa sat down by the table as well.

”How did it go with Hunley?” Benji asked.

”Fine. He just wanted to ask a few questions and see if we were alright.” Ethan answered, giving his friends a reassuring smile.

”Good.” Luther nodded.

”So what have you guys been doing the rest of the day?” Brandt gave them a wicked smile.

”Brandt..” Ethan began, shaking his head as Luther chuckled.

”Shopping,” Ilsa answered with a smirk. ”Sorry, Luther but I changed my mind, the new style didn’t really fit me after all.” She said drily, earning a laugh from the team as the waitress passed by their table.

”Excuse me,” Ethan said and waitress stopped mid-step and he flashed her a smile. ”Can I get a beer, please? And for the lady a..” he looked questioningly at Ilsa.

”Two beers, please.” Ilsa finished with a smile and the waitress nodded before walking back to the bar,

”So, Ilsa do you wanna tell them the news or should I?” Ethan asked, smiling at her.

”News, what news?” Benji said, excited.

”Guys, we already know you had sex. You don’t have to tell us.” Brandt said drily, earning a kick from Ethan under the table. ”Ouch,” he said, dramatically, looking at Ethan with accusing eyes.

”You deserved it.” Ethan said simply, ignoring Luther, Benji and Ilsa laughing at them.

”Seriously, though.” Luther said after a moment, collecting himself. ”What’s the news?”

Ethan looked at Ilsa who shrugged her shoulders and he turned to his friends. ”Ilsa is joining the IMF.”

A small moment of silence lasted as Ethan and Ilsa looked at them expectedly. Benji was the first one to speak, ”Yes, I knew it!” He got up around the table with a bright smile and gave her a hug as she sat on the bar stool, giving him an awkward smile but returning the hug, nonetheless.

”I’m so glad to hear it. Welcome, Ilsa.” Luther put a hand on her shoulder from where he sat next to her.

”Yeah, welcome.” Brandt nodded and smiled at her as well, however not feeling as close to her as Benji and Luther so he remained seated.

”Thanks, guys.” She smiled back.

”Two beers.” The waitress put down the glasses in front of them and they mumbled their thanks.

“So, what happens next?” Luther asked.

“Well, obviously there are a few tests and meetings I have to go on before I’m accepted but other than that there shouldn’t be any problems for me to get started. It’s not like I have to go through training.” Ilsa took a sip of her beer.

“Exactly. We’ve seen what you’re capable of.” Ethan added with a smile.

“Experienced what you’re capable of as well,” Brandt added, earning a few chuckles from the team.

“Yeah, well, I’m still sorry about that. How’s the shoulder?” She asked.

“I know you are. Don’t worry, it’s fine. It is good to know that if someone during a mission would sneak in on us when sleeping, at least you would wake up.”

Ilsa knew that probably all of them would wake up, being a light sleeper was just another part of the job, but she was thankful for the kind words and gave him small smile.

“Wait, so does it mean you’re on our team, Ilsa?” Benji asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

“Ethan asked Hunley if it would be possible. He could not say at the moment but he would look into it.” Ilsa answered.

“You’ll probably be on our team then.” Luther said.

  
“And why is that?”

“Hunley wouldn’t say no to his favorite agent.” Smirking, Luther watched Ethan groan.

“Hey, I’m not-,” Ethan wavered off, shaking his head.

“Favorite meaning; pain in the ass but getting the job done.” Brandt finished for Luther, making Ilsa giggle and look at an embarrassed Ethan who gave her a look saying why-am-I-hanging-out-with-these-people-?.

“And speaking of pain in the ass, if you wouldn’t be on our team, Ilsa, I know Hunley wouldn’t be the only one to think Ethan’s a pain in the ass.” Benji said simply.

“We would never hear the end of it,” Luther finished as poor Ethan looked down in his glass, muttering inaudible curses under his breath.

“ _Ilsa. Our Ilsa joining the IMF and she won’t even be on our team._ ” Brandt made a surprisingly not so terrible imitation of Ethan’s voice and the team cackled louder.

“Come on, guys, that’s enough” Ilsa admonished them lightly, putting her hand on Ethan’s thigh, squeezing it gently, making him turn to look at her. His eyebrows raised, he had an apologetic and awkward look on his face and once more Ilsa couldn’t help but think that he looked _cute_.

Without thinking, she pressed her lips against his, and she felt him shudder at the contact. He didn’t waste any time to kiss her back and one hand ended up stroking her face. The sound of a throat clearing pointedly pulled them back to reality and they broke apart, feeling the team’s eyes on them, eyebrows raised.

“You were saying, Brandt?” Ilsa asked, raising an eyebrow as well and she could see Ethan’s smirk in the corner of her eye.

“Never mind.” He muttered and finished his glass as Ilsa smirked. “I’ll go order another drink.” He got up from the chair and Benji and Luther rose as well, moving towards the bar together, leaving Ethan and Ilsa alone.

“Sorry. They can be a bit much sometimes. I love them, I really do, but occasionally I wouldn’t mind slapping them.” Ilsa laughed at his words.

“It’s fine. I can tell they obviously love you as well.” She gave him a small smile.

“They’re right, though. I would be upset if you weren’t on our team.” He said honestly.

“Good. So we’ll wait and see what happens, and in case I won’t be with you, I know there are people who won’t back down trying to get me on your team.” Her eyes twinkled and he moved closer to press a light kiss to her lips. Ilsa didn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, combing her fingers through his long, thick hair.

She had to admit she rather liked the long hair look on him and it was nice running her fingers through it.

“We need to have a serious talk about Public Display of Affection, though.” Brandt spoke as they came back, beers in hand, making Ethan and Ilsa pull apart.

"Fine," Ethan said and chuckled. 

The rest of the night ended in chatting, drinking and lots of laughter with one or two kisses stolen when no one was looking. 

\---

The warehouse turned out to be essentially a treasure map to finding the remaining members of the Syndicate and IMF tech was also found. Sensitive information was uncovered on the computer hard drives and IMF had a lot of recovering to do, but thankfully, it did not seem like the Apostles had done too much damage. It appeared that they had been so keen on revenge that they had not come up with any future plans. While Solomon Lane remained alive, he was imprisoned, and the people loyal to him were either captured or killed, one by one. 

Ethan helped Ilsa with apartment-hunting and it did not take long until they lived less than fifteen minutes away from each other. Apart from sharing most of their spare time together, Ilsa, to everyone's delight, joined Ethan's team. Especially Brandt seemed to be very happy about it, much to everyone’s surprise.

When asked, he would just shrug and say “at least now I’ve got backup when I decide to prank Ethan in his sleep, because I know Faust’s got a mischievous streak a mile long”, to which Ilsa just smirked and declined to comment.

Ethan groaned. He just knew the next few nights were going to be restless, and not for the reason he’d like them to be. For some reason, he was totally fine with that. As long as his team was together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story that somehow turned out to be 38 pages long. Wow. 
> 
> A huge thank you to the one and only ilsafausts who is a lifesaver and especially for helping me with the damn ending that I for some reason just could not write. 
> 
> Also, don't forget to leave a comment, would love to hear your thoughts. Have a good day. x


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